Chapter 23: Ceremony (Seeking Collection)

"Since I am the Creator, my mystic power is the source of Spirituality... I should be able to change the Dream World, or, in other words, spiritually interfere with reality."

With this thought in mind, Aaron entered the Dream World.

He made his way to the interior of a building which was a gathering place for core members of the Church. The High Priest would occasionally teach mystical knowledge here.

Today, he was lucky, as the High Priest himself was lecturing on the platform.

The bald, tattooed, and wrinkled-skinned Elder had a constant outflow of black flames in his eyes, a sign that his spirituality had accumulated to a certain level and was about to overflow.

He spoke slowly, with a deep voice:

"All of you here are just beginning to awaken your spirituality. I will teach you how to resist sickness, avoid danger, gain strength... and even, eventually, climb the ladder filled with radiance, get closer to our gods, and achieve immortality!"

After thoroughly stirring up the emotions of the believers below, the High Priest smiled even more: "Of course, with your current shallow spirituality, you can only access the simplest of rituals. Remember, all rituals require spiritual participation. So, those who are not real Unburned may not need to try, unless you want to consume your own life force instead!"

The High Priest casually picked up a tree branch: "The ritual I am about to demonstrate has a simple effect: it helps you find your way! It can help you find an exit quickly...please note, it is not only for when you get lost like an idiot, but also for when you encounter dangerous species adept at deception, or when you find yourself in a mysterious fog—it can show you the way out!"

"The entire ritual is divided into several parts: ritual track, necessary items, prayers, target, request, offerings, and so on... Remember, we can only pray to the great Black Sun, the Master of Solar Eclipse. The ritual track must not have any mistakes, or it will lead to terrible consequences..."

Aaron stood to one side, nodding to himself from time to time.

It was evident that, thanks to the unrelenting pollution or whispers of those great beings, the mystic system of this world was rapidly expanding, even giving birth to a unique mysticism.

This included many secret teachings and subjective verification methods, involving ritual studies, supernatural language, profound thoughts, idealism, wand exploration, numerology, natural magic, witchcraft, astrology, and alchemy. They covered everything imaginable and were full of wonders.

On the platform, the High Priest continued: "The timing of the ritual is also important. My Lord favors dawn and dusk, as the chances of success are highest at these twilight hours. But do not try at noon when the sun is at its most intense, as we had a believer unfortunately turn himself into charred ashes last time..."

"During the prayer, make sure that the main subject is clear, the words are precise, and there is no prolonged pause, as the Lord may feel offended..."

...

Aaron nodded, gaining some understanding of ritual studies. "These mysterious rituals mainly use one's spirituality to leverage the mystic forces, communicate with the great unseen beings, and request power... But is the Black Sun the kind of being that treats its believers gently?"

He felt that this High Priest had only grasped a bit of the path of worship but was not proficient in it.

Perhaps he was only communicating with a tiny bit of the Black Sun's brilliance, and the so-called ritual feedback was just the natural response of that little bit of light, like an intelligent program.

"Otherwise, according to the madness of the Black Sun, those who communicate with it should all be madmen!"

Amused, Aaron wondered what the Black Sun Church's expression would be when they actually communicated with the Black Sun.

"Well, the current situation is that I cannot interfere with this world... But what if someone else actively communicates with me?"

"For example, a believer uses their spirituality to engage in a ritual and connects with an unknown existence in the darkness..."

Aaron thought for a moment, somewhat deflated. "Uh... is there such a crazy madman who would pray to the unknown?"

"And my connection range, or rather, my ability to sense, certainly can't compare to those of the Black Sun... Pretending to be an evil god is a bit challenging."

"If I were to design a ritual for myself, what should my revered name be? Creator above all creation? The great observer behind multiple veils? Hey, even if I designed a respected name for myself, I wouldn't be able to tell it to my believers..."

Aaron realized that he had hit a dead end.

To interfere with the world, he must have believers. To have believers, he needs to establish rituals and titles. To instill the titles into the ears of believers, he needs to interfere with the world first!

"This is a damn deadlock!"

Aaron complained, "I might as well continue to be an invisible spectator... Maybe I'll run into some idiot or madman using a ritual pointing to the unknown, and it just happens to be sensed by me!"

On the stage, the High Priest had finished today's lecture.

He looked down at the numerous Unburned members, with well-concealed greed and longing in his eyes.

Only then did Aaron notice that Xiu was also among the Unburned members. She had obviously completed the first-stage ritual and successfully awakened her spirituality.

"This woman seems to have quite a talent for the Path of Darkness."

Someone incapable of accomplishing anything in the real world couldn't help but comment sarcastically.

Following Xiu, Aaron returned to the small house she shared with the two children.

At this time, there were no more monitors outside the house—it seemed they had been completely accepted by the Black Sun Church.

Entering the house and cautiously looking around, Xiu quickly closed the door.

"Aunt Xiu!"

At this moment, both Ike and Lin were in the house, cheering when they saw Xiu enter.

"Alright, I have become one of the Unburned and learned curses. We can leave here now."

Xiu lifted a piece of the wooden floor, revealing their saved black bread and canned food, and a large bag filled with other tools for the wilderness.

"I've already heard that the Black Sun Cult isn't as simple as it looks... The rumors of burning people alive are true– the High Priest is probably waiting for specific spirit numbers and dates... We must go, we can't stay. Even outside, we can continue to study the Path of Darkness..."

Xiu didn't realize she had unknowingly changed a bit.

For example, she was no longer resisting the worship of the Black Sun.

This time, the escape was to get away from the Black Sun Cult, not the Black Sun itself!

"But... Aunt Xiu, do we really have to leave? I think those uncles and aunts are very kind and give my sister and me candy."

Ike looked hesitant.

Xiu's expression changed, and she suddenly seemed confused and pained...

She seemed to remember something and turned pale: "This influence is too terrifying... I am already an adult and it affects me like this. The two of you must leave here immediately and stay away from 'mystery'!"